Aerial Arts at Carolina shows that you don’t need wings to fly

An aerialist ascended silk fabric hung from the ceiling during an Aerial Arts at Carolina club practice. They spun, spiraled and swayed toward the end of the silk but came to a stop just before reaching the ground. The aerial artist then posed, floating above the Earth, held firmly upraised within the silk. 

The soar and strength of aerialists might seem compelling, yet inaccessible to many observers. But to Sarah Fenwick, a senior at UNC and the acting president of Aerial Arts at Carolina, anyone can learn the suspended art.

On Mondays and Wednesdays from 5-6:30 p.m. in Ram’s Head Recreation Center, Fenwick, alongside her treasurer Charlotte Brown, a junior majoring in psychology, teach beginner-level students. Fenwick said she wants to provide new members with a good foundation of both fundamentals and guided strength training. 

“We just want to teach them the basics, get them comfortable on the silks and make sure that they're safe as they build their skills,” Fenwick said. 

In addition to the beginner-focused classes, experienced aerialists can work to cultivate their craft as well. UNC graduate Eszter Rimanyi is the head trainer of Aerial Arts at Carolina and spearheads classes that focus on both intermediate and advanced level members. 

“I'm doing the classes where people have at least some sense of experience, so we can really dive into more intense technique or really cool dynamic drops or pretty poses that require a little bit more background knowledge,” she said.

Despite the club being founded in spring of 2024, the organization has already attracted a large number of active members. This onset of popularity presented a problem for the club as they only had one rig to use during practices, Brown said. Her appeal to the Undergraduate Senate for funding a new rig was just approved this month. 

This addition of another rig sets up numerous opportunities for the club. Brown said that with two rigging points they could teach more students at the same time. This new rig will boost efficiency within practices and help members learn skills quicker.

With aerial arts, possibilities are endless. Even after practicing the craft for over a decade, Rimanyi still manages to discover new skills that excite her.

“Even though 10 years might sound like a lot, I actually feel like I'm only halfway immersed in it, like I could spend another 10 years easily learning something new every day” she said. 

With more new and experienced members joining and new equipment being added, Aerial Arts at Carolina is hoping to host their first-ever performance by the end of the semester, Rimayni said. The performance will include intermediate and advanced flows and routines set to music. 

Aerial Arts at Carolina strives to not only create a space where students can elevate their personal strengths and well-being, but to also foster a community built on their shared love of performing and aerial arts, Fenwick said. 

“I really do hold it very near and dear to my heart, that there's this specific community that is able to access the club for their personal wants and needs,” Brown said. “And being able to facilitate that, for sure, has been such a privilege.”

Be it through silks suspended from rigs or from lasting relationships formed over shared passions, Aerial Arts at Carolina shows that we do not need wings to take flight.

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